Sold out tickets and doubling housing prices: F1 weekend, Shanghai's hotel industry’s "Speed and Passion"

The Daily Economic News reporter｜Shu Dongni    Intern    Chang Songzai Shensyu    The Daily Economic News editor｜Huang Sheng

“As long as there’s a ticket, I’ll book your hotel.”

“What ticket?”

“The F1 ticket—scalper tickets are fine too.”

On March 13, the 2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix officially kicked off at the Shanghai International Circuit. Tickets were already hard to come by, and there were also people who, in order to find tickets, wracked their brains the day before the race.

According to data from Huazhu Group, as of March 12, among 34 Huazhu-owned hotels within a 10-kilometer radius of the Shanghai International Circuit, the reservation rate for March 13 to March 15 over three days was up 9 percentage points compared with the same period last year. Many hotels, including the Hanting Hotel Shanghai Jiading New City Baiyin Road Metro Station, Shanghai Jiading Xiyue Hotel, and Orange Crystal Shanghai Anting Hotel, were already fully booked. For Hanting Hotel Shanghai Jiading New City Yuanchanghu Hotel, Hanting Hotel Shanghai Jiading New City Malu Hotel, and Huhai You Shanghai Jiading New City Hotel, the reservation rate exceeded 98%.

The data on the Ctrip platform as of early March is even more intuitive: during the event period, hotel reservations within 3 kilometers of the Shanghai International Circuit (located in Jiading District) saw an average surge of 125%. Among many hotels, the number of room-nights increased by more than double, with the highest jump reaching 38 times versus the same period last week on a month-over-month basis.

From “tickets hard to get” to “rooms hard to get”—this is an “F1 weekend” belonging to Shanghai’s hotel industry.

Within five kilometers of the track: an “overnight spike” weekend for an economy hotel

Less than 5 kilometers from the Shanghai International Circuit, Wu Ting at the Hanting Hotel Shanghai Jiading New City Baiyin Road Metro Station checked the booking records on the afternoon of March 12 and found that there were still 40 rooms that hadn’t checked in. “I guess they’re all flying in from other places, so they’ll be a bit late.” Among those who had arrived, there were also children and elderly people, but overall it still skewed younger.

Image source: By reporter Zhu Yu, The Daily Economic News

International guests were also clearly more numerous. The reservation system showed five foreign guests; one of them was a Korean man, wearing work clothes with a racing theme. Usually this hotel couldn’t take more than two or three foreign guest bookings in a month, but this weekend, foreign guests became the norm.

Many were regulars—every year they come for F1, and most of them don’t just stay for the two days of the race. Wu Ting tallied it: stays of three nights and four nights were the most common, accounting for about half; stays only for Friday and Saturday were comparatively fewer.

This is the unique consumption logic of F1 events—it’s not just a race; it’s a weekend, even a short holiday. Ctrip data shows that among users who purchased F1 travel products, the share of out-of-town visitors is as high as 79%. On average, they stay in Shanghai for 3 days, which is significantly higher than ordinary visitors. During the 2025 F1 period, among ticket-purchasing users on Ctrip, 78% were out-of-town visitors, 21% were inbound visitors, truly realizing “for one race, to one city.”

Wu Ting didn’t calculate the annual share in detail, but roughly estimated that F1’s revenue contribution during this week is quite substantial. “But it happens only once a year,” she said. “If there were more events like this, it would be great.”

Image source: By reporter Zhu Yu, The Daily Economic News

This shift—from a “niche event” to “mass celebration”—is not accidental. Wenli Zeng, a core expert at the high-end think tank under the National Sports Administration’s Sports Culture and Sports Publicity Development Strategy Research Center, and a professor at Guangzhou Sport University, observed that the biggest change in F1 in recent years is its shift from a single top-tier event to a “citywide carnival.” Taking the Shanghai leg as an example, in addition to the race, the event also runs supporting venues such as sub-venues, large-screen viewing points, and a grid-flag carnival—plus diverse offline activities including concerts, bazaars, and family experiences—breaking limitations of high-end circles and opening the doors to more ordinary consumers.

Forty kilometers away from the track: a 1:1 Ferrari replica that greatly boosted spending

If hotels near the Jiading track are cashing in on the race itself, then at the Forty-kilometer-away XuHui Riverside Yifie Hotel, they’re cashing in on another slice of the cake—because F1 is turning into a “citywide carnival.”

On the afternoon of March 11, on the hotel’s terrace, an Australian couple leaned on the railing and stood in the river breeze for four hours. Their goal was very clear—to wait for Oscar Piastri. This F1 newcomer would appear at the West Bank Dream Center next door to the hotel on the same day.

In a matter of tens of seconds—that’s the window in which they could see their idol. Four hours later, they waited it out. The next day, they wandered around the hotel wearing T-shirts with Piastri’s signature. Wang Gang, the hotel’s on-site manager, watched the scene and said, “They might have come specifically to see F1. They’re probably very excited.”

Image source: By reporter Huang Xinxi, The Daily Economic News

This hotel is a full 40 kilometers away from the Shanghai International Circuit. In past years, distances like this had nothing to do with F1.

But this year is different. For the 2026 Shanghai F1 event, for the first time, it’s divided into four districts. Besides the main race venue in Jiading, North Bund, Baoshan, and XuHui Riverside are also sub-venues. The official name is “Grid-Flag Music Carnival,” and it’s free.

Wang Gang received the message in early March, with less than two weeks left before the event began.

It was rushed, but the results exceeded expectations. On the weekend when the lineup was officially announced on March 8, reservations at the hotel started surging. By March 9, all 160 rooms were booked. “Actually, people who truly want to watch F1 would definitely choose hotels around Jiading first,” Wang Gang said. “But after that area fills up, it radiates outward. One wave after another—we followed along as well. In the end, the entire Shanghai area was reached.”

Room prices went up, but they didn’t go crazy. Compared with normal weekends, the increase was only 15% to 20%, which is much milder than the “doubling”行情 around the Jiading track hotels.

“We’re right inside the West Bank Dream Center. When guests come down the stairs, they can take part in the F1 activities,” Wang Gang said. “The check-in experience will be greatly improved.” That terrace became the best proof. Drivers like Zhou Guanyu, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and others are coming, and guests can wait for them on the terrace. “You just stay there for the whole afternoon. You don’t know what time they’ll come, so you end up waiting a long time.” There are also Chinese guests and foreigners.

Wang Gang himself also became a consumer. When he saw the 1:1 Ferrari replica from XuHui West Bank 1, it showed various racing suits inside, which indeed greatly stimulated spending. “Seeing it makes me excited—it boosts my adrenaline, and then I spend. For example, me personally: in normal times, if I buy a jacket, it’s around 1,000 yuan, and I might hesitate. But when I see a jacket with the Ferrari logo for 1,500 yuan, I just buy it directly. And I also picked up a pair of shoes, which cost another 800 yuan.”

Mass celebration: from “going to watch the race” to “going to celebrate”

Ms. Zhang has lived in the West Bank area for several years. This year is her second time watching F1 at the Shanghai leg. But she clearly felt that this year’s F1 is “different.”

Because the F1 XuHui Riverside sub-venue can be reached by walking for just ten minutes, since the “Grid-Flag Carnival” officially launched on March 8, she has come almost every day. She was surprised to find that “it’s packed every day, with people inside and out.”

After observing for a while, Ms. Zhang found that people coming to the West Bank of XuHui fall into two types. One is people coming for celebrities—quite a large portion of the crowd are fans. The other is people coming for racing. “My friend came all the way to watch the race. He didn’t manage to get tickets, so he wanted to find a place to watch together with car fans.”

The West Bank Dream Center conveniently satisfies the latter group. International beer brand Heineken set up a big screen for live broadcast of the race on-site. Next to it is a seating area—buy a beer and you can sit down. Further next to it is an interactive area where you can try changing tires and play simulated racing. “It’s like watching the World Cup. You’re blowing in the river breeze, having some beers, watching the race with friends—the atmosphere is great.”

Image source: By reporter Song Hong, The Daily Economic News

People come, and money gets spent. After walking around and taking a look, Ms. Zhang found the hottest item was a “driver’s license book” co-branded with Zhou Guanyu. “The PUMA and Ferrari co-branded pop-up store is also very crowded. Fans’ star-matching hoodies are 899 yuan and caps are 369 yuan—there are plenty of people trying them on, so many are definitely buying the same items. As for the official team uniforms, they cost over 1,000 yuan for a piece, and some people buy those too. And that’s not even mentioning food—inside the Dream Center there’s a dining congregation spot that set up an F1 pop-up shop, selling toy car models and small keychains. People buy a lot of them,” Ms. Zhang said.

A friend from out of town came to Shanghai specifically to watch F1. Ms. Zhang recommended that he stay at a hotel near the West Bank Riverside. The reasons were very straightforward: the hotel is right next to the West Bank Dream Center, and guests can join the Grid-Flag Carnival activities just by going downstairs. At the same time, the subway goes directly to the Jiading race venue in Shanghai, with no transfers—balancing convenience for watching the race with the central location advantage of the city center area.

Ms. Zhang watched the West Bank gradually get hotter. “At first it was an art museum; later it became a market. Starting last year, extreme sports challenge events also came. This year it’s the F1 Grid-Flag Music Carnival. It’s no longer just an area for exhibitions. Since last year, there’s been a trend toward sports events.”

She thinks this is a good thing. Sports events bring not only foot traffic, but also more brands and more spending scenarios. “Why are so many alcohol brands coming? It creates the vibe. While watching the race, you can naturally have a beer to celebrate—then spending happens automatically.”

From Jiading to XuHui, from Hanting to Yifie, from Wu Ting to Wang Gang to Ms. Zhang—this year’s F1 picture has become clear. It’s no longer a race located 40 kilometers away, but a festival that the whole city can participate in, with different ways to enjoy it. And for those working in the hotel industry, the most plain wish might be what Wu Ting said: “If there were more events like this.”

Cover image source: Daily Economic News